Kyrsten Sinema announces she'll depart Senate at end of year



Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona has announced that she will depart from the Senate at the end of the year.

"The only political victories that matter these days are symbolic. Attacking your opponents on cable news or social media. Compromise is a dirty word," Sinema said in a video. She said that her approach is "not what America wants right now."

"Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together," Sinema said, "I will leave the Senate at the end of this year."

— (@)

Sinema has served in the Senate since 2019. She won election in 2018 as a Democrat but switched to independent in 2022.

"In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent," Sinema tweeted in 2022.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kari Lake for the Senate seat last year, well ahead of the Republican primary for the Senate seat which will take place later this year.

"As a Journalist, I covered Kyrsten Sinema for many years. We may not agree on everything, but I know she shares my love for Arizona," Lake said in a tweet on Tuesday. "Senator Sinema had the courage to stand tall against the Far-Left in defense of the filibuster—despite the overwhelming pressure from the radicals in her party like Ruben Gallego who called on her to burn it all down."

— (@)

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona is also aiming to win the Senate seat.

"I want to thank @SenatorSinema for her nearly two decades of service to our state," Gallego said in a tweet. "It's time Democrats, Independents, and Republicans come together and reject Kari Lake and her dangerous positions."

— (@)

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema stands firm on support for filibuster, gets accused of siding with 'white supremacy' and of plunging 'a knife in the heart of Democracy'



Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) delivered a speech on Thursday in which she reiterated her unwavering support for the filibuster, sparking the ire of those who want Democrats to unilaterally change the rules to enable the party to ram through election-related legislation.

The filibuster, a procedural hurdle that requires three-fifths of senators to agree in order to advance toward a vote, serves as a check on whichever party holds the majority.

While Sinema said that she supports both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, she also said that she continues to support the filibuster.

"And while I contintue to support these bills, I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country," Sinema said. "There's no need for me to restate my longstanding support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation."

But some on Twitter strongly condemned the senator.

"@SenatorSinema just put a knife in the heart of Democracy. My heart breaks how easily she was bought to support the Republican coup," tweeted MSNBC terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance.

Keith Olbermann, who in the past has hosted programs on MSNBC, tweeted that Sinema "needs to resign or be removed from office immediately." In another tweet he added, "For whatever reason, @SenatorSinema has become a menace to the continuation of American democracy."

"To be blunt: @SenatorSinema chose her side - and that side is white supremacy. That's who she is. That's what defines her now," another person tweeted.

"Kyrsten Sinema is a monster. A grotesque, opportunistic, lying monster," tweeted Michelangelo Signorile, who hosts a SiriusXM radio show.

Kyrsten Sinema is a monster. \n\nA grotesque, opportunistic, lying monster.\n\nNow lying again as she takes to the floor to say she will not allow a carve out to filibuster to save democracy.\n\nRemember it was killed by this monster.
— Michelangelo Signorile (@Michelangelo Signorile) 1642094750

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is also continuing to stand firm on his support for the filibuster.

"Allowing one party to exert complete control in the Senate with only a simple majority will only pour fuel onto the fire of political whiplash and dysfunction that is tearing this nation apart — especially when one party controls both Congress and the White House," Manchin said in a statement. "As such, and as I have said many times before, I will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster."

Manchin now, in case he wasn\u2019t abundantly clear for the last several months.pic.twitter.com/QuHyi4DwgA
— Jake Sherman (@Jake Sherman) 1642107320

Left-wing activists planned to harass Sen. Kyrsten Sinema while she runs Boston Marathon: report



As if harassing her by following her into a bathroom stall at Arizona State University wasn't enough, left-wing protesters planned to further torment Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) during her Boston Marathon run on Monday.

What are the details?

According to a recent Boston Globe report, progressive activists from Arizona and Massachusetts planned to gather at the event holding signs berating the moderate senator over her refusal to support the Biden administration's massive spending plan. Here's more from the report:

Activists from a group known as the Green New Deal Network plan to confront Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who has qualified to run in the marathon, over her refusal to commit to supporting the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, the group said Saturday.

The Green New Deal Network, a coalition of 15 national organizations, said in a statement that activists plan on "bird-dogging" Sinema during the marathon in an effort to pressure her on the issue.

Bird-dogging is a "protesting tactic in which activists confront a politician at an unexpected time or place," the Washington Examiner explained. The obvious goal of the tactic is to pressure a target toward a specific outcome. In this case, activists hope to hound the lawmaker until she changes her political stance on the spending plan.

The Green New Deal Network reportedly did not respond to the Boston Globe's requests for comment.

At least one photo of protesters at the event has since emerged on social media. The AZ Working Families Party showed up at the marathon with signs and the apparent intent to find Sinema.

We're here at the #BostonMarathon with @SunriseTempe and others from AZ asking @SenatorSinema to stop running from… https://t.co/lEwuhglCOU

— AZ Working Families Party (@AZ_WFP) 1633978005.0

What's the background?

Sinema and fellow moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) have faced constant pressure from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party to support the president's $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which features major funding for climate-conscious initiatives.

Last week, members of an organization known as Living United for Change in Arizona accosted Sinema at ASU, where she is a lecturer. The group confronted her in a classroom before following her into a restroom, even continuing to yell at her after she entered a stall.

"We knocked on doors for you to get you elected. And, just how we got you elected, we can get you out of office if you don't support what you promised us," one of the activists threatened.

The eye-opening harassment quickly garnered national attention, yet President Joe Biden responded to the situation by brushing it off, saying, "It happens to everybody."

Similarly, left-wing feminist website Jezebel celebrated the harassment and justified further attacks against the lawmaker.

Biden says US Sen. Kyrsten Sinema getting harassed, recorded on video inside restroom 'happens to everybody'



President Joe Biden brushed off left-wing activists harassing U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema — and even following the Arizona Democrat into a restroom and recording video while she entered a stall — as something that "happens to everybody."

What are the details?

At a Monday press conference, Biden was asked if the headline-grabbing Sunday restroom incident — which was preceded by activists harassing Sinema in an Arizona State University classroom — was "crossing a line."

Biden responded, "I don't think they're appropriate tactics, but it happens to everybody."

After a brief chuckle, the president added that "the only people it doesn't happen to are people who have Secret Service standing around. So, it's a part of the process."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Later White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about Biden's comments regarding the Sinema restroom incident, and Psaki minimized the president's tepid reaction to the left-wing activists' behavior.

Psaki said she believes "the context of what happened here is very important" and then noted a Sinema statement in the wake of the incident backing Americans' "freedom to protest, to speak out, and to criticize."

She then said Biden "believes that. Maybe he shorthanded it, but he wanted to make that clear this morning."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

And while Psaki called the activists' confrontation of Sinema in her classroom "inappropriate and unacceptable," the press secretary didn't mention the activists subsequently following Sinema into a restroom and recording video:

What happened this weekend was that her classroom, her students, and the safe and intellectually stimulating environment she's worked to create during the years of teaching at ASU was breached. That's inappropriate and unacceptable. And I think the context of what happened here is important despite the fact that, of course, we stand for the president's stands [sic] for the fundamental right of people to protest, to object, to criticize, as they often do outside of the gates of the White House.

A reporter gave Psaki a chance to "condemn these protesters who chased [Sinema] into the restroom," but the press secretary refused to say the word "condemn" and instead continued to emphasize the activists interrupting Sinema's class.

"I think that's pretty clear that they shouldn't breach the classroom and make the students feel like their privacy, their intellectually stimulating classroom, and their time as students in college is being broached upon," Psaki replied.

'It Happens To Everybody': Biden Administration Reacts To Activists Following Sinema Into Bathroomyoutu.be

What's the background?

Living United for Change in Arizona — a self-described "organization led by changemakers fighting for social, racial, and economic transformation" — uploaded video of the Sinema incident. The group said "Arizona immigrant youth" confronted Sinema at an ASU classroom over her reluctance to vote in favor Biden's Build Back Better $3.5 trillion spending bill that Democratic leadership is trying to push through Congress.

But the activists also followed Sinema into a restroom, even recording video as Sinema entered a restroom stall.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @LUCHA_AZ

"We need solutions, the 'Build Back Better' plan has the solutions that we need," a female said while standing in front of the stall.

A individual named "Blanca" challenged Sinema: "We knocked on doors for you to get you elected. And, just how we got you elected, we can get you out of office if you don't support what you promised us."

She continued: "I was brought here to the United States when I was three years old. And in 2010 my grandparents both got deported because of SB1070. And I'm here because I definitely believe that we need a pathway to citizenship. My grandfather passed away two weeks ago, and I was not able to go to Mexico and visit him because there is no pathway to citizenship. And if we have opportunity to pass it right now, then we need to do it because there's millions of undocumented people just like me."

🔴BREAKING: Blanca, an AZ immigrant youth confronts @SenatorSinema inside her classroom, where she teaches @ ASU. "i… https://t.co/Ydy4NMqjCk

— LUCHA Arizona (@LUCHA_AZ) 1633285430.0

Democrats freak out over leaked video showing GOP lawmakers praising Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema



Progressive pundits appear furious and are making renewed calls to abolish the Senate filibuster after video was leaked of Republican lawmakers telling conservative activists to praise moderate Democratic senators.

Democratic activist Lauren Windsor on Friday posted a video of Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) telling a group of conservatives that the Senate filibuster is preventing President Joe Biden from accomplishing the most radical parts of his progressive agenda. In the video, he credits Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) with preserving the filibuster.

"The reality is they're pushing as far as they can," Biggs said of the Democrats. "Fortunately for us, the filibuster is still in effect in the Senate. Without that we would be dead meat."

"Thank goodness for Sinema and Joe Manchin," he added, praising the two Democrats in the Senate who have consistently opposed calls from progressive activists to abolish the filibuster.

Another Republican who speaks in the video, Rep. Bryon Donalds (R-Fla.), urged the conservative audience to call Manchin and Sinema's offices in Washington, D.C., to thank them for standing firm.

"All of you in this room, people at home on Zoom, let me tell you right now, if you want to do one thing to keep the republic afloat, call Joe Manchin's office, call Kyrsten Sinema's office," Donalds said.

The 60-vote majority required to overcome a filibuster in the Senate has acted as a significant obstacle to Biden's agenda. The most popular legislation among the progressive left on issues such as election reform, the climate, and so-called "human" infrastructure like free college tuition, government-funded child care, and a national paid leave program, has all been defeated by filibuster threats from the Republican minority.

Democratic activists and pundits have over the course of several months expressed their fury with Manchin and Sinema, and many such critics seized on the leaked video to shame the moderate senators.

"Republicans were caught on video thanking Manchin & Sinema for blocking Dem legislation. Let's make this viral and make it clear we're sick and tired of Manchin & Sinema's obstruction," Scott Dworkin, the founder of an anti-Trump super PAC that supports progressive candidates and causes, said.

MSNBC host Joy Reid echoed Dworkin's sentiments, asking if Manchin and Sinema are "content to play this role in the fall of our democracy."

Are @JoeManchinWV and @SenatorSinema content to play this role in the fall of our democracy??? https://t.co/TQfZ2Q9qnQ

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) 1625859942.0

"I sure hope @SenatorSinema and @Sen_JoeManchin watch this video and reconsider their positions on the filibuster for civil rights bills," added Grant Stern, the executive editor of Occupy Democrats.

"Wow, when the GOP are using you for stooges and laughing behind your backs @SenatorSinema and @Sen_JoeManchin , it might be time to join your own party," Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson said.